Minecraft maker expresses dismay over Windows 8

Minecraft’s creator Markus “Notch” Persson is the most recent one in the PC gaming industry to criticize the Windows 8 platform. Persson is apparently not very enthusiastic about his perceived ruining of PC ecosystem by Microsoft.

His comments reinforce negative comments of other personalities in the gaming industry including Activision Blizzard and Valve.

Persson shared his thoughts in his tweets by saying “Got an email from Microsoft, wanting to help ‘certify’ minecraft for win 8. I told them to stop trying to ruin the PC as an open platform.”

The huge success of Minecraft, a game that lets users utilize blocks to create their world, made Persson an interesting game creator to watch out for.

He added: “I’d rather have minecraft not run on win 8 at all than to play along. Maybe we can convince a few people not to switch to win 8 that way.

Persson’s game has reached 7.5 million in sales, earning him a special award by British Academy of Film and Television Arts, describing him “an inspiration for all games developers”.

Persson’s issue with Microsoft is the Redmond giant’s certification scheme. Microsoft demands that Minecraft has to conform to Microsoft’s gesture “touch language” and to abide by the app’s store’s avoidance of adult content.

That said, it is clear that Minecraft has been screened to work perfectly fine with Windows 8 when run on a PC. However, the game snagged Windows 8 app store requirements because it is rated PEGI 18-a game allowed to be played by adults over 18 year old only.

Interestingly, Microsoft will offer a separate desktop app store that will offer a different set of rules that will focus more on compatibility and security requirements.

Like Google and Apple’s scheme, Microsoft will take a 30% cut on sales of items made through the marketplace.

Developers are still allowed to sell their wares outside the marketplace without certification on machines running Windows 8 system. Such games will play if the PCs are x86-based system utilizing chips made by AMD and Intel. On the other hand, app makers planning to sell their wares for Windows 8 variant will have to follow the restrictions.

Gabe Newell of Valve commented before that Windows 8 spells a “catastrophe for everyone in the PC space”. He expressed his view that he would prefer an open platform and that Microsoft’s plan to charge a 30% cut on sales might drive other firms out of business due to pressure on their sales profits.

Valve runs its own online marketplace offering a number of games as well as developing its own titles.

Activision Blizzard’s Rob Pardo also said that Windows 8 was “not awesome for Blizzard either”.

Despite these comments, some developers see hope in Windows stores. They think that the design of the touchscreen interface will attract more users to install more apps on their mobile gadgets.

One of such interested persons in the upcoming Windows 8 stores is Jason Kingsley, founder of Rebellion Studios, which sells its products on Valve Steam system. “Microsoft get a lot of things right,” he said.

“One of the problems at the moment is that while we can get games out to a worldwide audience the issue is visibility. I think this is a potential route to greater visibility for the independent sector… though the jury is still out about whether it’s the right way to go.”

He is positive that his company should be able to pass Microsoft’s certification.

Although Microsoft refused to comment officially on Persson’s comments, a tech blog called Neowin accused him of being a “hypocrite”.

An editorial piece on Neowin is quoted as saying: “You have a very successful version of Minecraft on the Mac and iOS platforms. You didn’t have a problem with Apple’s closed systems policy when you launched the iOS or Mac versions.”

Persson reacted on his Twitter page with this: “Microsoft owns the Xbox. Apple owns the iOS. The charm of the PC is that nobody owns it… Microsoft is free to do whatever they want with their OS. I won’t support all of what they do, however.”

Disclaimers

(i) TheDroidGuy.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The links and images of the products we review contain links to Amazon.com, TheDroidGuy.com will receive sales commission if you purchase items that we refer on Amazon.com.

Thank you for your support.

(ii) Prices and product availability shown for products we review are for references only. Although we do update our data regularly, the pricing and availability of the products we review are constantly changing, please check on the merchant site for the actual price and availability.

(iii) We are not affiliated with the device manufacturers or phone carriers we mention in any way, all suggestions are based on our own experience and research, you may use our advice at your own discretion.